In our latest edition of Talking Hoops with Ted Sarandis, we spend a lot of time looking at early season tournaments.

It’s only natural to pay attention to early season tournaments like the Battle 4 Atlantis or Maui Invitational. They are the best vehicle for noteworthy matchups and for teams to emerge, and as such we learn a good deal about a lot of teams early. Here, we look at how North Carolina has looked as good as anyone thus far, even an impressive Kentucky team that saw a historic individual effort on Monday, and we learned a little about Connecticut, Oklahoma State and Georgetown in Maui as well. We also look at the start UCLA has had, including their championship in the Wooden Legacy.

The 2016-17 season is underway, and with it comes the first edition of Talking Hoops with Ted Sarandis here on Hoopville. Here, we talk about first impressions and what to look forward to on the season.

We start with a look at Tuesday night’s Champions Classic, which ended with the best game on the young season as Kansas beat Duke on a late jumper in a terrific back-and-forth game. From there, we talk about four clear top teams at the moment, and how those teams rely on freshmen or veterans to varying degrees, then some early games of note like North Carolina looking impressive and UConn losing two straight. We also touch on how veterans will be key players for teams stacked with young talent, and that has already proven true.

Welcome back to the Morning Dish for the 2016-17 season. Opening night is just eight days away, and as we get closer to the first counting games we continue Hoopville’s brief conference looks entering the season.

Few leagues were more balanced last year than the Atlantic Sun, where all eight teams were plenty capable of beating each other, evidenced by the conference’s cellar-sharing teams (Stetson and USC Upstate) winning a combined four times against the teams seeded first and second in the conference tourney. North Florida won the regular season crown a year ago but was blitzed in the league tourney semis by Florida Gulf Coast, and the Eagles are the prohibitive favorite entering this year. Marc-Eddy Norelia should be the most dominant player in the league and FGCU has enough size, experience and talent to make some noise out of conference, too.

For three seasons now, the Big East has had its share of critics. First, that it’s not as good as the American Athletic Conference, the new conference formed from the split of the old Big East – a cry that grew louder when UConn won the national championship in the first year after the split. Next was that they overachieved, and they had a bunch of good schools but no national power. Then there were troubles in the NCAA Tournament, the ultimate measuring stick.

And in 2015-16, they were all obliterated. The conference had great validation come its way, none more so than on the last night of the season.

Welcome to Talking Hoops with Ted Sarandis. In this edition, we start by looking back at a departed legend, then continue with some off-season developments.

First, we look back at the life of the late Pearl Washington, a college basketball legend. While he had a relatively uneven NBA career, there is no mistaking that he will be remembered for his college days at Syracuse both on its own merits and within the larger context of the Big East and its rise.

The 2016 NCAA Tournament needed its signature game, and it got one in no better place-in its final game.

Villanova’s 77-74 win over North Carolina is not just one of the great championship games of all-time, it’s one of the great NCAA tourney games ever in any round. It was played at a high level from start to finish, and while it didn’t have the back-and-forth down the stretch of Duke-Kentucky in 1992 or, say, Kansas State-Xavier in 2010, the star power of Georgetown-North Carolina in 1982 or Houston-N.C. State the next year, and may not carry the transformational significance of Michigan State-Indiana State in 1979, it had a finish that will lead to discussions from now until the end of time about its place as possibly the greatest ending to a title game ever. … Continue Reading

When Kris Jenkins hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer in the national championship game, it made Villanova the champions of college basketball. It gave the school their second national title, with the first one coming 31 years earlier. It was the end of an epic game, one that you don’t feel calling an “instant classic” does full justice to.

And it did much more than anyone might appreciate at the moment it happened. It is potentially a game-changer, and this isn’t about the perception of head coach Jay Wright, much as that will change.

Back in the fall, 351 teams lined up with hopes of playing on Monday night. Well over 5,000 games and many more practices later, the end is near. Two teams remain, and their play over the past three weekends makes them deserving participants.

North Carolina and Villanova are not surprises getting this far. The Tar Heels were the preseason No. 1 of a lot of people, while most had Villanova as a top 10 team. The Wildcats’ appearance might be a mild surprise, but that they have reached this point should shock no one, not even those who could only talk about how the Wildcats had not gotten past the first weekend for several years.

The circumstances, of course, were much different and not nearly as dramatic, but Villanova’s 92-69 demolition of Miami Thursday night in the first game of the NCAA tourney’s “Sweet 16” brought back memories of another earlier Wildcats’ performance.

We’re talking here, of course, of the win over Georgetown in the 1985 national championship game that ranks as one of the greatest (the greatest in my book) upsets in tournament history.

Championship Week has given us so many great stories. There are plenty more still to be written today alone, as Championship Saturday is the biggest one of them all. Friday night paved the way for it beautifully.

There was the Big East Tournament, where Seton Hall advanced to continue a great story for them. A year ago, the Pirates’ season ended in discord; they were in a bad place, and there was plenty of talk about who might not return this season, from underclassmen who might leave to the coach. Kevin Willard had a fairly prohibitive contract for the school, but the talk was there all the same. A year later, the Pirates once again started out with promise, but this time they have persisted through the ups and downs that come with a season. They will take on Villanova, who beat Providence earlier in the evening. This is a more mature team, and one that we’ll see playing later in the month.

Gonzaga might have needed the West Coast Conference title they won in Las Vegas last year in order to be in the NCAA Tournament. With better guards, there should be no doubt about that this time around.

The Big 12 has been on a great run to be the top conference in recent years, including last year. This year will be a challenge due to a big loss of experience throughout the conference.

Hoopville Archives

Hoopville Archives

College Basketball Books

Everybody Needs a Head Coach

Former college basketball coach Mike Jarvis has a new book out, Everybody Needs a Head Coach.

"As you read this book, I hope that Coach Jarvis' experiences inspire you to find your purpose in life."-Patrick Ewing, NBA Hall of Fame center

"Mike Jarvis' is one of my special friends. I am so pleased that he has taken the time to write this fabulous book."-Mike Krzyzewski, Five-time NCAA championship head coach, Duke Blue Devils

"In reading this book, I can see that Mike hasn't lost his edge or his purpose. Readers should take a look at what he has to say."-Jim Calhoun, Three-time NCAA champion, UConn Men's basketball

Review on Hoopville coming soon!

Coaching Changes and NBA Draft Early Entrants

The coaching carousel is moving. Keep track of the latest coaching changes right here on Hoopville.

Also, keep track of players who have declared early for the NBA Draft.

College Basketball Tonight

We hope you enjoyed COLLEGE BASKETBALL TONIGHT during the 2016 NCAA Tournament. COLLEGE BASKETBALL TONIGHT is a comprehensive look at the NCAA Tournament hosted by veteran college basketball broadcaster Ted Sarandis, along with co-hosts Mike Jarvis and Terry O'Connor, both former Division I coaches. It also included many great guests, including Hoopville's own Phil Kasiecki.

The show aired on AM 710 WOR in New York City on Sunday evenings starting with Selection Sunday and running through the NCAA Tournament.